Coordinated spherical radial gear adapted to transmit rotary motion in the same axial line or at an angle.



' G. J. HOSK'INS.

- COHRDINATED'SPHEAICAL RADIAL GEAR AD'APTED T0 TRANSMIT ROTARYLMOTION IN THE SAME AXIAL LINE 0R AT AN ANGLE.

APPLICATIQN FILED NOV. IL 1915 I ikdentedsept 20,1917;

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

l/YVt'A/TOR" G. J. HOSKINS. -c0'0'RmNATED SPHERICAI. RADIAL GEAR ADAPTED T0 TRANSMIT ROTARY MOTION IN THE SAME AXIAL LINE 0B A] AN ANGLE. APPLICATION Hm) uov. 12', 1915.

1 ,241 1 1 8. Patnted Sept. 25, 191?.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W llllllllllll {NVFNTONJ G. l. HOSKINS. I

COb'RDINATED SP'H'ERICAL RADIAL GEAR ADAPTED T0 TRANSMIT ROTARY MOTION m THE SAME AXIAL LINE OR AT AN ANGLE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12 1915.

Patented Sept. 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- l/VVENfORi UNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTQEr GEORGE JOHN HOSKINS, OF BURWOOD, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA.

COURJDINATED SPHERICAL RADIAL GEAR ADAPTED TO TRANSMIT ROTARY MOTION IN THE SAME AXIAL LINE OR AT AN ANGLE.

I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 25, 1917.

Application filed November 12, 1915. Serial No. 61,071.

71 at whom it may concern:

33c it known that I, GEORGE JOHN HOSKINS, M. l. M. E., subject of the King of Great Britain & Ireland, residing at St Cloud, Bur-wood Road, Burwood, New South l/Vales, Australia, have invented new and useful 1m provements in Coordinated Spherical Radial Gear Adapted to Transmit Rotary Motion in the Same Axial Line or at an Angle, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide coordinated gears of the crown type, for transmitting rotary motion from a relatively fixed shaft to a movable shaft in the same axialline with the relatively fixed shaft, or at an-angle thereto, such movable'shaft being adapted to move in one plane only,

' so that theaxis of the movable shaft may be enabled to be placed, within certain specified limits, at an angle to the axis; of the fixed shaft. These conditions necessitate teeth of avery peculiar conformation.

The adjacent extremlties of each shaft will terminate in crown-gear members the teeth of which intermesh, while the external conformation of the intermeshed members will constitute a sphere the center of which will be the point of intersection of the axial lines of the shafts of the two members when the movable member is at an anglewith the relatively fixed member. When viewed from with-out and looking toward the center of the sphere, each tooth will present a bulbous appearance, in cross section, that is to say, there will be a semi-circular head tapering down, below the center from which it is struck, to athinner shank, and then sweeping down toward the root of the tooth'with semi-circular curves to the right and left until each ,curve mergesinto the shank of the adjacent tooth on that side. Every part of the frictional surfaces of each tooth will beradial with the center of the sphere of which it is apart.

The spherical radial gear, which consti- "tutes the-present invention, will be adapted to transmitrotary motion either in a continuous straight line or at an angle, preferably, not exceeding 30 degrees, in any horizontal direction from the normal-axial line. This can only be effected if the geometrical figure, upon which the gearing is based, be a sphere. When the teeth of two of these coordinatedf gear wheels are intermeshed,

their'united contour willbe spherical, and all the lines, which, combined, form the periphery or faces of theteeth, will be radial from the center of the sphere. The sphere will be hollow, the teeth being formed, medially-between the two poles, out of the shell of the hollow sphere; the teeth, when viewed from the side or from the top,'will present a bulbous appearance, tapering toward the center of the sphere. The periphery of the teeth will be one continuous serpentine curve from the starting point back to the starting point. The starting point may be at any part'of the continuous curve. When the coordinated spherical radial gear is to be applied to' do work, it will be inclosed within a spherical. casing, and means will be provided for connecting one axle with the other aXle,'so that one or both of the axles may be adapted to move in one plane, to a lim- 1 ited extent, about the center of the coordinated spherical gear, and maintained in that position so long as it may be thought desirable.

But in order that the invention may be thoroughly understood, reference will be made tothe accompanying sheets of drawings, in which Figure l, is a perspective View of the two coordinated members' of the gearing, sep'arated, so that their conformation-and constructionmay be clearly seen and apprehended,

Fig. 2 is a plan of one 'of the gear wheels,

showing some of the radial lines from the center of'the sphere.

. Fig.3 is a vertical section of the meshed coordinated gear wheels, taken on the line 1 2. of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 4 is a side, elevation of one of the gear wheels, showing some of the radial lines which start from the center of the' of the coordinated gear and the casing therefor, as applied to the front wheels of an automobile, and viewed from the rear.

Fig. 7 is a'longitudinal horizontal sectional plan of thesame, the section being takenat right-angles to that shown in Fig. 6,

on a relatively fixed axis, while the other will be keyed on an axis which may be moved in an horizontal direction, so as to form an ang e (preferably not greater than 30 degrees) with the relatively fixed axis. When the two gear wheels are intermeshed they will, together, form a hollow sphere, the shell of the sphere being cut, medially between the poles, to a continuous serpentine curve outlining bulbous-headed, intermeshing teeth of 'peculiarconformation.

The lines, which form the-contour of the teeth, will.radiate from the center of the sphere, and will terminate in the serpentine line on the surface of the sphere. The cen-. ter of the sphere, from which all the lines that constitute the sides ofthe teeth will radiate, is marked A, and is inclosed within two small circles, so that the starting point of the radial lines ,may be readily identified. On the surface of the sphere, the point or head' of each tooth will present-a bulbous appearance, curving inward to a neck, then curving outw ard toward the roots of ad acent teeth, then curving upward toward the necks of the next teeth, and so on throughout the entire circleof. teeth. The contour of the teeth will therefore form one continuous serpentine curve throughout, the solid formation tapering toward the center, as

will be clearly seen by referring to the dotted lines radiating from the center and indicated on Figs. 2 to 5.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, B-is the ear-Wheel keyed 011 the relatively fixed axis, and C the gear-wheel keyed on the movable axis. At whatever angle the movable axis may be placed, relatively to the fixed axis, its central axial line will always point direct tothe center-of the sphere, whichwill never vary. B is the relatively fixed axis, and C is the movable axis. When the axis C is inclined to the axis B the bulbous part or headof the most enmeshed tooth on the wheel B will engage with the neck, of the tooth-in ad- 'vance on the coordinated gear-wheel C, and

the neck of the tooth on the coordinated gear-wheel B will engage with the bulb orhead of the tooth immediately behind it on the gear-wheel ,C. An examination of the intermeshing teeth, as illustrated in Fig, 4, will showjthat when the teeth are viewed from the butside and lookingtoward the center of the' sphere, each tooth will,

but others of plete wearin the coordinated gear-wheel.

defined by two outward semi-circular curves merging into the. shanks of the adjacent teeth, the frictional surfaces following the curves being in every part radial with the a point A, as shown by the broken lines in the several figures. When the-teeth of the two gears are intermeshed, so that the axial line of the movable shaft C intersects the axial line of the relatively fixed shaft D at the point A, the two gears will form a sphere, of which the point A is the invariable center, no matter what angle the movable shaft makes with the fixed shaft- It will be seen from the drawings, and particularly from Fig. 4, in which figure the semi-circular outline of the head of the tooth which lies'between the observer and the sphere-center A, is shown practically in true outline, that the center of the semi-circle substantially outlining the head of each' tooth is so located on the sphere as to lie between the outer end of the tooth and the point where the tooth is intersected at the surface of the sphere by a plane passing through the -cen-.- ter of the sphere and perpendicular to the axis of the shaft on which the tooth is fixed. In other words, when the two shafts are in the same axial; line, the plane of the pitch-line of the member on the fixed. shaft and the plane of the pitch-line of the mem her on the movable shaft, will coincide, and will be located intermediately between the lines of centers from which the semicircular heads of the teeth of each member are struck. It, is obvious that as the rotation another will'continually, vary. When the maximum angle of divergence ffr axial line of the relatively fixed .axis hasbeen attained, some ofthe teeth on each gearwheel will be out of gear with their correspending teeth onthe coiirdinated gear-wheel the teeth of the coiirdinated gear-wheels wi 'be more deeply enmeshed than before, persistently maintaining comnated teeth t roughout their entire width. This distribution of wearing surface is due to the spherical radial shape of the teeth of, It has beenfound that goodresults are obtained when, in gearing of, say, six inch diameter, the

, plane of the pitch-line will be 3/32 of an inch belpiw'the plane of the centers from which the semi-circular heads of the teeth are struck; the two planes 9r lines of'centers will therefore be 3/16 of an inch apart with the planes of the pitch-lines coincid-' ing and intermediate between the two contact with their 'c'oiirdi-l je'cting from the upper aid in full understanding the invention to state that 1t is a factwhicl1 may be proved by experiment, and which has been proved,

that when the movable shaft is at an anglev to the fixed shaft, the only teeth of the two members which will be in frictional contact, doing work, will be the pairs of teeth, two on each member, which are about the points of intersection of the planes of the pitch'lines. These points of intersection of the planes of the pitch-lines ofthe two members never vary, no matter what the obliquity of the two planes, relative to one another, may be. 1

When the coord' rated gear-wheels, as above described, are to be applied to practical uses, it is obvious that the movable axis must be so connected to the relatively fixed axis that it shall be adapted to move to the limited extent herein before-mentioned in a horizontal arc, concentric with'the coordinated gear-wheels; but shall be so confined or limited in these movements that the inter meshed gear-whec ls cannot be entirely -sep-.

arated from one-another. To this end, a

been devised, in wh1ch' to inclose the coiirdinated'gear wheels. In I bracket arm 0 which insures connection spherical casing has the drawings, the invention isshown as applied to the fore-wheels of an automob1le.

. Referring particularly to Figs. 6 to 9 inelusive relatively fixed axle B is inclosed. within a casing D, in which are roller bearings d,=to reduce friction; connected to the flanged end of the shaft-casing l) is the part B of the gear-casing; this part'is as nearlysemi-spherical internally as. its construction will permit; this part of the casing partly incloses the relatively fixed. gear-wheel B; to the part E is attached the remaining part F of the spherical gear-casing, the/ part F being semi-spherical in; contour, with a circular band I around its central part, the surface of the circular band being extended on to the part E. In the part F- isia'slot G, through which the bearing H of the movable axial Shea will pass; the band r and the slot G will lie between horizontal plancs. A good idea'of this construction will be obtained by referring to Figs. 8 and 9, where the parts are shown drawn to an a,

enlarged scale, and are uncovered. Pro- I and lower sides of the part E are gudgeons J, J, the axis of the same passing vertically through the center A" of the sphere; a bracket piece K is pivoted on the gudgeons J, J, and is adapted to revolve thereon in a horizontal plane; mediately between the upper and lower ends of the bracket is a semi-circular recess L,vthat isadapted to receive the band F when all the parts (as shown on Sheet IV.) are connected together; the small annular space'f, which will be left-between the bottom of the recess L and'the" face of the band F will be packed with a springpacking of any suitable kind. T he central part of the bracketpiece K will be extended in tubular form toward the rear and inward toward the center of the gear-casing, such tubular part constituting bearings H for the movable axial shaft C The extreme end of the axial shaft 0 will be taperedat C, the hub 'M of the automobile wheel will, at its outer end, make a tightfit with the taper '0, and will, moreover, be keyed thereon, so that the wheel shall rotate withthe axial shaft C the two parts will besecured together by the nuts 0% Roller bearings m and ball bearings m will redu'ceto a minimum the frictionbetWeentheiDteriOr of the hub and the external surface of the bearing H. Projecting from each bracket K is a bracket sarm K. The bracket arms K {one of which is associated with each of the movable axial shafts C are connected together by a rod N, so that the circular'movements' of-the brackets and the annular movements of the axial shafts C shall synchronize. The steer'ingwill be effected by moving the munic'ated 'to' the brackets K through the 'rod'Obackward or forward, as desired; this backward or forward movement will be com with only one. of the bracket pieces K, the

other bracket piece beingcaused-to move s1- multaneously about. its center J through the M agency 0% the bracket arm l 1 and the con- -ne'cting rod N. Rotary motion will becommunicated to the relat1velyfixed axial shaft 3B by any suitableiapparatus, in a manare to, comprising intermeshlng gear members disposed on said shafts with their centers coincident with the ointof intersection of the axes of the shafts, said gear members having teeth, the elements of the faces ofwhich radiate. from said centers',and the center lines of which faces are equidistant from the saidcenters, the outlines of said.

teeth being such that the teeth are widest smooth at the plane through the center of the s here at right angles to the shafts when the atter are in line, and have the ends rounded above and the roots tapered below this plane so as to allow of all teeth in mesh having a bearing against the adjacent tooth forall the various angular positions of the shafts.

2. A spherical radial gear for transmitting motion from one shaft to an intersecting shaft arranged at a variable angle thereto, comprising intermeshing gear members disposed on said shafts with their centers coincident with the point of intersection of the 'axes of the shafts, said gear members having teeth, the elements of the faces of which radiate from said centers, and the center lines of which faces are equidistant from the said centers, the depth of said teeth below the pitch line being more than double that above, and the width of the I tooth. decreasing both above and below the pitch line to allow of all the teeth in. mesh in the various angular positions of the shafts contacting smoothly with the-adjacent teeth for the delivery of power.

3. A spherical radial gear for transmitting rotary motion from a relatively fixed shaft to a movable shaft in the same axial line or at an angle thereto, comprising crown gear members 'on the shafts and having intermeshing teeth, the said cr'own gear members having teeth with heads semi-circular in cross section, each semi-circular head tapering down to a thinner shank, and then by semi-circular curves merging into the shanks of the ext teeth, the frictional surfaces of the teeth thus formed being in every part radial from the center of the sphere, whereby one gear member may be rotated to drive the other in various angular positions of the movable shaft relative to the fixed shaft, the parts bein all the teeth of both Inem rs may be intermeshed at once and when so intermeshed the two crown gear members together form a sphere the center of which coincides with the point of intersection of the axial lines of the shafts when thegnovable shaft is at an angle to the relatively fixed shaft, as and for the purposes herein set fort 4. A- spherical radial gear for transmitting rotary motion, from a relatively fixed shaft to a movable shaft in the same axial line or at an angle thereto, comprising crown gear members having intermeshing teeth r in cross section,

so designed that with heads semi+bircula each semi-circular head tapering down to a v thinner shank, and then, by enlargement, merging into the shanks of the next teeth, the ,frictional surfaces of the teeth thus formed being, point formed by the intersection of the axial lines of the two shafts when they are at an angle, the pitch-line of the crown gear teeth when the two shafts are in the same axial line being intermediate between the rows of centers from which the semi-circular heads of the teeth are struck, the parts being so designed that when the two shafts arerat an angle the two pitch-lines intersect 'atopposite points at right angles to the plane of movement of the movable shaft and at which two opposite points the corresponding teeth of the two members of the spherical gear will be in frictional contact,

' substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE JOHN HOSKINS.

Witnesses P. MASSEY, CLAUDE MEILLOR;

in every part, radial with a 

